More questions about house buying/etc
October 12, 2023 9:22 AM Subscribe
Following up from this, I'd like to know what else should be looked into/explained when looking for a house. Flood maps? Cancer clusters? Home inspections? Radon inspections specifically? Credit reports? Grants? Realtors? Anything besides Zillow? Starting from zero here.
Best answer: (Plaster is a wonderful material if it's in decent condition. Highly recommend.)
posted by Frowner at 10:17 AM on October 12, 2023
posted by Frowner at 10:17 AM on October 12, 2023
Best answer: Honestly if you are starting from scratch the first thing I recommend is to sit down and make a list of everything that you personally need/require in a house. For example, when we were looking (Boston area) one of our hard requirements was access to public transportation so my husband could get to work. Anything that was more than a mile from a stop or required more than one transfer just didn’t make the list, nonnegotiable.
The second thing I recommend is to learn as much as you can about your local housing market. There were several good suggestions related to that in the thread you linked. But honestly, you might have to revise your nonnegotiable list based on the local market, or else make peace with having a longer process for buying a house. As another example: in highly competitive sellers’ markets it seems to have become common for buyers to waive home inspections in order to make their offers more competitive. If that is true in your area you will have to decide what you value more.
Some things you mention might be required by your lender (flood maps were for us, might not be for you depending on where you are).
On preview, Frowner mentions a lot of good points, but I still think any of these considerations will depend on how competitive the local market is and how long you are willing to look.
posted by DiscourseMarker at 10:18 AM on October 12, 2023
The second thing I recommend is to learn as much as you can about your local housing market. There were several good suggestions related to that in the thread you linked. But honestly, you might have to revise your nonnegotiable list based on the local market, or else make peace with having a longer process for buying a house. As another example: in highly competitive sellers’ markets it seems to have become common for buyers to waive home inspections in order to make their offers more competitive. If that is true in your area you will have to decide what you value more.
Some things you mention might be required by your lender (flood maps were for us, might not be for you depending on where you are).
On preview, Frowner mentions a lot of good points, but I still think any of these considerations will depend on how competitive the local market is and how long you are willing to look.
posted by DiscourseMarker at 10:18 AM on October 12, 2023
Best answer: This answer from ClaireBear is also good, on hiring independent people to inspect within their domain of expertise rather than relying on a general inspector.
posted by Dashy at 10:27 AM on October 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Dashy at 10:27 AM on October 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Also, since I forgot to ask in the post: what housing materials are fireproof? Not wood, obviously, but beyond that I have no idea.
posted by queen anne's remorse at 10:34 AM on October 12, 2023
posted by queen anne's remorse at 10:34 AM on October 12, 2023
Response by poster: Also also: what kinds of heating/cooling systems are available these days?
posted by queen anne's remorse at 10:46 AM on October 12, 2023
posted by queen anne's remorse at 10:46 AM on October 12, 2023
Best answer: I'd just start looking at listings and going to open houses in the neighborhoods you're interested in. This will give you a good baseline for what is available in the area you want to live in.
What kinds of housing materials are available/prevalent and what kinds of heating is available are super-location-dependent. The vast majority of the houses in my neighborhood either have old-fashioned steam radiators or newer mini-split heat pumps. All the houses in the neighborhood where I grew up had subfloor hydronic heating from oil-fueled boilers. Non-wood-frame houses are extremely rare in my part of the country (although you can find houses with cement board or asbestos siding).
Basically I think you're better off starting by looking at what's available rather than building out a list of criteria for an ideal house.
posted by mskyle at 11:35 AM on October 12, 2023 [6 favorites]
What kinds of housing materials are available/prevalent and what kinds of heating is available are super-location-dependent. The vast majority of the houses in my neighborhood either have old-fashioned steam radiators or newer mini-split heat pumps. All the houses in the neighborhood where I grew up had subfloor hydronic heating from oil-fueled boilers. Non-wood-frame houses are extremely rare in my part of the country (although you can find houses with cement board or asbestos siding).
Basically I think you're better off starting by looking at what's available rather than building out a list of criteria for an ideal house.
posted by mskyle at 11:35 AM on October 12, 2023 [6 favorites]
Best answer: Honestly, I would concentrate on 1) factors that cannot be changed and 2) big ticket stuff.
Factors that cannot be changed are location, size of lot, distance to job/public transportation, flood zones, neighborhood, schools, etc. You may also want to add to the list layout of the home and number of bedrooms/bathrooms (even though you *may* be able to change these a bit).
The big ticket stuff would be condition of roof/windows, drainage, HVAC, and electric. Everything else is more cosmetic and wants rather than needs.
There's no such thing as a perfect house, but these are the things I would focus on to make sure I knew what I was getting into. We once looked at a great house in a lovely neighborhood. One look at the overhead Google map showed a wastewater treatment plant 1/2 mile away. Deal breaker.
posted by jraz at 11:49 AM on October 12, 2023 [3 favorites]
Factors that cannot be changed are location, size of lot, distance to job/public transportation, flood zones, neighborhood, schools, etc. You may also want to add to the list layout of the home and number of bedrooms/bathrooms (even though you *may* be able to change these a bit).
The big ticket stuff would be condition of roof/windows, drainage, HVAC, and electric. Everything else is more cosmetic and wants rather than needs.
There's no such thing as a perfect house, but these are the things I would focus on to make sure I knew what I was getting into. We once looked at a great house in a lovely neighborhood. One look at the overhead Google map showed a wastewater treatment plant 1/2 mile away. Deal breaker.
posted by jraz at 11:49 AM on October 12, 2023 [3 favorites]
Best answer: check the laws in your state - we just found out that in ours, if you call up an agent on Zillow to just take a look at a house, if you walk into that house with that agent - that agent is now set to be the one you have to deal with if you want that particular house, even if you have your own agent, even if you want to get a different agent to see the same house, even if multiple agents list that house. Who knew?
posted by Geameade at 12:15 PM on October 12, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Geameade at 12:15 PM on October 12, 2023 [2 favorites]
Best answer: My opinions:
1) Stay pretty far away (1/2 mile minimum) from a busy highway - any closer than that and you are going to have air quality issues. Do a minimum amount of research that no bad old factories were around you, especially if you live east of the Mississippi because that's where that stuff was located in the olden days. Most newer houses now are built on greenfield land.
2) It doesn't matter what the siding and heater/AC are made of as long as they are in good condition.
3) A big front yard is a waste of space, especially if you live in a suburb that has a lot of rules about what you can put there. A big backyard is often extremely nice.
4) Are you interested in children? Are you planning on living in this home once they are born? Then think about how far you want their bedrooms from yours. Lots of houses have them all together, which is great when they are babies, but no so great when they are 13 and jamming at 12:30 pm on a Wednesday when you have to go to work the next day.
5) A full size laundry room is pretty nice.
6) if you are buying closer to the median in the US (about $350k) then your stay in the home on average will be around 8 years. For every ~$100k increase, you time there will increase by 2-3 years. Close in on $1m, this could be the only home you ever buy, unless of course you are super rich.
7) Buy a house close enough to some things other than other houses. If your grocery store is more than a 5 minute drive away, you are going to be angry when you lack some ingredient, or your spouse will be if they are doing the cooking. Take that anger. You chose it.
8) Credit report: 85% of mortgage dollars go to people with a credit score equivalent over 700 on a 900 point scale, like 55% with a score over 800 on a 900 point scale. So if your credit score is below that, then you need to do what you can to bring it up. It doesn't mean you won't be able to buy but you will be with a lot of competition for not a lot of dollars.
9) visit your prospective house at different times of the day and night.
10) some realtors suck and will only show you houses they have an interest in, with their company or whatever. Make sure you get a good one, and do some searching yourself on zillow or whatever - you still need one to let you in to view. If your realtor doesn't like this, pick a different one.
posted by The_Vegetables at 12:20 PM on October 12, 2023 [3 favorites]
1) Stay pretty far away (1/2 mile minimum) from a busy highway - any closer than that and you are going to have air quality issues. Do a minimum amount of research that no bad old factories were around you, especially if you live east of the Mississippi because that's where that stuff was located in the olden days. Most newer houses now are built on greenfield land.
2) It doesn't matter what the siding and heater/AC are made of as long as they are in good condition.
3) A big front yard is a waste of space, especially if you live in a suburb that has a lot of rules about what you can put there. A big backyard is often extremely nice.
4) Are you interested in children? Are you planning on living in this home once they are born? Then think about how far you want their bedrooms from yours. Lots of houses have them all together, which is great when they are babies, but no so great when they are 13 and jamming at 12:30 pm on a Wednesday when you have to go to work the next day.
5) A full size laundry room is pretty nice.
6) if you are buying closer to the median in the US (about $350k) then your stay in the home on average will be around 8 years. For every ~$100k increase, you time there will increase by 2-3 years. Close in on $1m, this could be the only home you ever buy, unless of course you are super rich.
7) Buy a house close enough to some things other than other houses. If your grocery store is more than a 5 minute drive away, you are going to be angry when you lack some ingredient, or your spouse will be if they are doing the cooking. Take that anger. You chose it.
8) Credit report: 85% of mortgage dollars go to people with a credit score equivalent over 700 on a 900 point scale, like 55% with a score over 800 on a 900 point scale. So if your credit score is below that, then you need to do what you can to bring it up. It doesn't mean you won't be able to buy but you will be with a lot of competition for not a lot of dollars.
9) visit your prospective house at different times of the day and night.
10) some realtors suck and will only show you houses they have an interest in, with their company or whatever. Make sure you get a good one, and do some searching yourself on zillow or whatever - you still need one to let you in to view. If your realtor doesn't like this, pick a different one.
posted by The_Vegetables at 12:20 PM on October 12, 2023 [3 favorites]
Best answer: This answer from ClaireBear is also good, on hiring independent people to inspect within their domain of expertise rather than relying on a general inspector.
Find someone--a handyman, not a home inspector--who can inspect everything. Depending on the local housing market, you will not have the time to bring in individual experts, nor will you have the privilege of even being able to do a traditional home inspection because you will lose the house to some other buyer who will waive the inspection.
We realistically only had the open house plus a private 30 minute showing to inspect the house before we had to make an offer. Luckily we knew someone we trusted who could do it, and we snuck him in during the private showing as our "uncle" who was there to "advise" us. He checked a lot of the standard things (roof, heating, electrical, plumbing) and even a bunch of stuff we didn't think of. He literally opened+closed every interior door to see if swung on it's own or rubbed up against the door frame to check if the house had settled since it had been built.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 12:27 PM on October 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
Find someone--a handyman, not a home inspector--who can inspect everything. Depending on the local housing market, you will not have the time to bring in individual experts, nor will you have the privilege of even being able to do a traditional home inspection because you will lose the house to some other buyer who will waive the inspection.
We realistically only had the open house plus a private 30 minute showing to inspect the house before we had to make an offer. Luckily we knew someone we trusted who could do it, and we snuck him in during the private showing as our "uncle" who was there to "advise" us. He checked a lot of the standard things (roof, heating, electrical, plumbing) and even a bunch of stuff we didn't think of. He literally opened+closed every interior door to see if swung on it's own or rubbed up against the door frame to check if the house had settled since it had been built.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 12:27 PM on October 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Also you need to watch the episode John Oliver did on HOAs.
If you have the option do not ever buy a house that is part of an HOA. Don't let anyone (realtors, potential neighbors, HOA reps) try to convince you otherwise. HOAs are scum. They are entirely unregulated, accountable to no one, and hold enormous powers over property owners. Try to find a place to live that has an actual, goddamn municipal government because it's way preferable to living under HOA.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 12:37 PM on October 12, 2023 [4 favorites]
If you have the option do not ever buy a house that is part of an HOA. Don't let anyone (realtors, potential neighbors, HOA reps) try to convince you otherwise. HOAs are scum. They are entirely unregulated, accountable to no one, and hold enormous powers over property owners. Try to find a place to live that has an actual, goddamn municipal government because it's way preferable to living under HOA.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 12:37 PM on October 12, 2023 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Step back across the street and look at the lines of the house (roofline, walls, etc). Are they totally square, without tilt or sway? That will give you a good sense of the foundation. Then walk all around the house and make sure the ground slopes slightly downhill from the house in all directions. You want water runoff to go away from the foundation. If it doesn't, expect to build up the pavement around the house to help it do so (or else deal with expensive waterproofing and leaks!) Imagine a minor street flood in the neighbourhood. Are you in the low point? Ideally the house is raised slightly from where the water would be pooling.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 12:49 PM on October 12, 2023
posted by nouvelle-personne at 12:49 PM on October 12, 2023
Best answer: Train line. Particularly freight trains. We have a freight line (the Norfolk Southern) that at night is allowed to run every half hour. At night, I think they’re allowed to go faster and even without the pressing down of the horn, these trains are LOUD. It feels like if you leaned out the window you’d be able to touch them, and it’s more than half a mile away. Starts rattling the building about 10 minutes before you can actually hear it and continues doing so 10 minutes after it passes. Also, I suspect during the pandemic they became longer (i.e., more cars linked together) so the speed plus the length is wakey-uppey. My partner is a light sleeper and it wakes him up at least once a night.
Someone near me who bought a house even closer to the line filed a complaint with the town council that it was repeatedly waking her young children. I don’t think anything came of it.
posted by SomethinsWrong at 2:58 PM on October 12, 2023
Someone near me who bought a house even closer to the line filed a complaint with the town council that it was repeatedly waking her young children. I don’t think anything came of it.
posted by SomethinsWrong at 2:58 PM on October 12, 2023
Best answer: Try to figure out the relative risk of fire, flood, earthquake, and other natural disasters in the area where you're considering buying. When we started doing research to buy our house, we quickly discovered that a huge swathe of the area we were considering was either in a high fire risk zone or basically on top of a fault line, and we knew we weren't willing to buy a house in those areas. So, that immediately narrowed down our options in terms of where it was even worth looking. And, don't forget to consider climate change. In our area, at least, the risk of fire will probably get worse in the future.
Also, when you research natural disaster risks, look into how those risks will affect your ability to get homeowners insurance. One reason we were absolutely not willing to buy in the high fire risk area (besides, you know, the high risk of fire) is that I had started seeing posts on our local NextDoor about people being kicked off their homeowners insurance due to the fire risk. Don't get stuck with a house you can't insure.
posted by peperomia at 4:22 PM on October 12, 2023
Also, when you research natural disaster risks, look into how those risks will affect your ability to get homeowners insurance. One reason we were absolutely not willing to buy in the high fire risk area (besides, you know, the high risk of fire) is that I had started seeing posts on our local NextDoor about people being kicked off their homeowners insurance due to the fire risk. Don't get stuck with a house you can't insure.
posted by peperomia at 4:22 PM on October 12, 2023
Best answer: The list is so long it will make your head explode. But you don't need to know all the answers at once.
Step one: get a general idea of your budget. To start with, google "how much house can I afford" and look through some of the different resources. When you get more serious, you can get prequalified for a loan but that is a bit of project and requires you figure out who you want to get your mortgage from (although you can change your mind depending on the fine print)
Step two: think about possible neighborhood - where do you want to live and why? What is most important to you in terms of neighborhood - safety, schools, commute, local amenities?
Step two b: which areas have homes in your price range? No point in looking in neighborhoods where you can't afford any of the homes
Step three: start going to open houses, walk through the homes, pick up flyers, ask questions. The goal is get an idea of what is out there and what the tradeoffs are going to be.
Step four: refine your criteria for what is important in a house and in a neighborhood. Start to double check for neighborhood concerns like natural disasters, municipal services including schools, and so on. You will start to recognize what things are pretty standard in your area so you can focus your worry on local conditions and maybe eliminate some "nice to have" features when you realize that they aren't offered in any of the homes in your area and price range.
Step five (you go this as early as step three): find a real estate agent that you feel that you can really trust. They will show you options that weren't on your list, point out problems that you you never thought of. Also, if you are looking for mortagage that might be at the high end of what you can afford, pick a broker or bank and get pre-approved now. (Note that they will often pre-approve you for more than a conservative buyer should be spending so don't take that as your budget without considering what you can really afford.
Step six: start to seriously look for a home
Step seven: evaluate the homes that you find and like - do as much as you can before you place the offer and even more after. Your real estate agent will know many of specialists that you might need. This is where most of the questions people are suggesting above will come into play. Talk to your agent about how much time you have to do inspections, what things will allow you to cancel your contract and how much money do you back if you back out of the offer.
posted by metahawk at 5:09 PM on October 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
Step one: get a general idea of your budget. To start with, google "how much house can I afford" and look through some of the different resources. When you get more serious, you can get prequalified for a loan but that is a bit of project and requires you figure out who you want to get your mortgage from (although you can change your mind depending on the fine print)
Step two: think about possible neighborhood - where do you want to live and why? What is most important to you in terms of neighborhood - safety, schools, commute, local amenities?
Step two b: which areas have homes in your price range? No point in looking in neighborhoods where you can't afford any of the homes
Step three: start going to open houses, walk through the homes, pick up flyers, ask questions. The goal is get an idea of what is out there and what the tradeoffs are going to be.
Step four: refine your criteria for what is important in a house and in a neighborhood. Start to double check for neighborhood concerns like natural disasters, municipal services including schools, and so on. You will start to recognize what things are pretty standard in your area so you can focus your worry on local conditions and maybe eliminate some "nice to have" features when you realize that they aren't offered in any of the homes in your area and price range.
Step five (you go this as early as step three): find a real estate agent that you feel that you can really trust. They will show you options that weren't on your list, point out problems that you you never thought of. Also, if you are looking for mortagage that might be at the high end of what you can afford, pick a broker or bank and get pre-approved now. (Note that they will often pre-approve you for more than a conservative buyer should be spending so don't take that as your budget without considering what you can really afford.
Step six: start to seriously look for a home
Step seven: evaluate the homes that you find and like - do as much as you can before you place the offer and even more after. Your real estate agent will know many of specialists that you might need. This is where most of the questions people are suggesting above will come into play. Talk to your agent about how much time you have to do inspections, what things will allow you to cancel your contract and how much money do you back if you back out of the offer.
posted by metahawk at 5:09 PM on October 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: “Try to figure out the relative risk of fire, flood, earthquake, and other natural disasters in the area where you're considering buying.”
This is extremely important and a term that will help you dig up this info is “hazard map”
Be wary of older flood maps - they’re not going to account for climate change.
posted by congen at 8:20 PM on October 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
This is extremely important and a term that will help you dig up this info is “hazard map”
Be wary of older flood maps - they’re not going to account for climate change.
posted by congen at 8:20 PM on October 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Do not use the home inspector your real estate agent recommends. Find an independent.
Beware of real estate agents who show you really terrible scary houses that nobody in their right mind would buy then steer you to something with “just a few small problems, but you’ve seen what else is out here in your price range.”
This is what’s deal breakingly, life changingly expensive: foundation, main sewer line / main drains, the roof. Everything else can be budgeted for and dealt with.
posted by mygothlaundry at 8:30 PM on October 12, 2023
Beware of real estate agents who show you really terrible scary houses that nobody in their right mind would buy then steer you to something with “just a few small problems, but you’ve seen what else is out here in your price range.”
This is what’s deal breakingly, life changingly expensive: foundation, main sewer line / main drains, the roof. Everything else can be budgeted for and dealt with.
posted by mygothlaundry at 8:30 PM on October 12, 2023
Best answer: So a few things.
1. There seems to be a bit of negativity w/r/t home inspectors. I have had a great home inspector that I’ve used twice. Good ones, that you hire, can be fantastic for vetting houses. I’d look into this early and find someone local to the area you’re looking at who works for you. Along these lines some folks waive inspections as a condition of sale. From your concern here I’d not go down that path.
2. It’s silly but when my wife and I bought our first house we didn’t realize how busy the street it was on was because we looked at it on a Sunday when traffic was light. Weekdays during commute hours was a different story.
3. You can fix a house. You can’t fix its location.
4. This will vary by state but in most states you should get a fairly robust set of disclosures with any sale. Also most mortgage lenders will force and appraisal and/or inspection. It’s rare to have a house with a hidden gotcha so you might be overthinking this.
5. Personally, any house that was obviously flipped was off my list. I’m not paying a premium for shitty, contractor grade (Home Depot hardware) , cosmetic updates
Set aside 5-10K for a few small upgrades like a heater/AC/washer dryer etc. if everything is great when you buy it then fine. If not you don’t have to worry too much with a bit of wiggle room.
Relax a bit. This will work out. It may help to start getting to a few open houses with no intention of buying to start seeing what’s there. It will provide a clearer picture of what’s important to you and what’s not.
posted by bitdamaged at 9:19 PM on October 12, 2023
1. There seems to be a bit of negativity w/r/t home inspectors. I have had a great home inspector that I’ve used twice. Good ones, that you hire, can be fantastic for vetting houses. I’d look into this early and find someone local to the area you’re looking at who works for you. Along these lines some folks waive inspections as a condition of sale. From your concern here I’d not go down that path.
2. It’s silly but when my wife and I bought our first house we didn’t realize how busy the street it was on was because we looked at it on a Sunday when traffic was light. Weekdays during commute hours was a different story.
3. You can fix a house. You can’t fix its location.
4. This will vary by state but in most states you should get a fairly robust set of disclosures with any sale. Also most mortgage lenders will force and appraisal and/or inspection. It’s rare to have a house with a hidden gotcha so you might be overthinking this.
5. Personally, any house that was obviously flipped was off my list. I’m not paying a premium for shitty, contractor grade (Home Depot hardware) , cosmetic updates
Set aside 5-10K for a few small upgrades like a heater/AC/washer dryer etc. if everything is great when you buy it then fine. If not you don’t have to worry too much with a bit of wiggle room.
Relax a bit. This will work out. It may help to start getting to a few open houses with no intention of buying to start seeing what’s there. It will provide a clearer picture of what’s important to you and what’s not.
posted by bitdamaged at 9:19 PM on October 12, 2023
Best answer: You cannot change your neighbors, so choose them well. Bad neighbors can make home ownership an utter misery.
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 12:39 AM on October 13, 2023
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 12:39 AM on October 13, 2023
Best answer: Just wanted to say briefly that I agree with mskkye and jraz: in many areas of the country, the housing market is very competitive, and the housing stock is often quite old. I therefore don't think it's especially helpful to start from zero and imagine your ideal house, because it's overwhelmingly likely that it doesn't exist and that you will create an exercise in frustration when you go to look at actual options. (For instance, if you've decided that you want a brick house with steel joists for fire safety, heated/cooled with ductless minisplits, and it turns out that in your area, houses are all wood joists with siding and steam radiators, I don't think that the exercise will ultimately have been helpful.)
I think it's a lot better to set your expectations within what exists. I would recommend going to as many open houses as possible to start with, for houses in your price range and maybe $100-200k outside it in either direction. I'm talking 20-30 open houses (and perhaps individual showings as well, if you have a realtor). This will let you see what combinations of things you can get in your area for the amount of money you have, and what kinds of compromises you must choose between. Also, most house things are fixable/can be changed. Things that are not fixable (or not fixable except with a lot of money) are location, ceiling height, foundation, structural stuff, noise (neighbor noise, car noise), and to some extent, HVAC and layout (layout sometimes can be fixable for a reasonable amount, but it's better to consult a professional rather than assume; heating/cooling systems can be changed, but it can be costly - often $10-20k+). Other than that, most things can be changed and/or aren't too expensive to fix (for instance, we remediated radon for under $1000). I guess what I'm saying is that it's likely that your selection is going to be within a fairly narrow range of similar options. Unless you have huge amounts of money and/or are planning a new build, it makes most sense to familiarize yourself intimately with what those existing options are first, rather than focusing on distinctions that won't be options for you anyway.
posted by ClaireBear at 7:39 AM on October 13, 2023 [3 favorites]
I think it's a lot better to set your expectations within what exists. I would recommend going to as many open houses as possible to start with, for houses in your price range and maybe $100-200k outside it in either direction. I'm talking 20-30 open houses (and perhaps individual showings as well, if you have a realtor). This will let you see what combinations of things you can get in your area for the amount of money you have, and what kinds of compromises you must choose between. Also, most house things are fixable/can be changed. Things that are not fixable (or not fixable except with a lot of money) are location, ceiling height, foundation, structural stuff, noise (neighbor noise, car noise), and to some extent, HVAC and layout (layout sometimes can be fixable for a reasonable amount, but it's better to consult a professional rather than assume; heating/cooling systems can be changed, but it can be costly - often $10-20k+). Other than that, most things can be changed and/or aren't too expensive to fix (for instance, we remediated radon for under $1000). I guess what I'm saying is that it's likely that your selection is going to be within a fairly narrow range of similar options. Unless you have huge amounts of money and/or are planning a new build, it makes most sense to familiarize yourself intimately with what those existing options are first, rather than focusing on distinctions that won't be options for you anyway.
posted by ClaireBear at 7:39 AM on October 13, 2023 [3 favorites]
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What condition are the walls in, especially if they are plaster? If you are looking at an old house with plaster walls, especially with wallpaper on them, you go right over to the walls and tap and press them in multiple places. Plaster that is pulling slightly away from the lathe but is solid and in good condition can be fixed fairly easily and at low expense; plaster that is softened, fragile or god forbid crumbling is a huge red flag. If you find a bad patch of plaster, you need to look at all the rest of the plaster carefully and you need to look at the ceilings. A bad patch can just be a bad patch - as a standalone, it's not a reason to give up on a house. But it should push you to check more.
Is the soil safe? We live in a poor neighborhood with a lot of pollution and our soil is not safe - if we grew vegetables, we would have to replace the soil or do raised beds only.
What is nearby? A fire station is noisy, but you get used to it. Are there small but polluting or noisy businesses? Is there a busy fast food place? What is day to day life likely to be on this street?
Also, if your house doesn't have a good fence and everyone else has good fences, people may see your yard as a great place to cut through to get to the other side of the block. Obviously, this is either a trivial problem (the occasional child or teen zooming through) or a solvable problem (a locked back gate) but consider what your house has or doesn't have in comparison to your immediate neighbors.
What kind of visibility and vulnerability do your windows give you? Is it easy for a passerby to look in, see something and maybe break a window? Do you have good visibility for your side yard? Where will packages be delivered and will they be secure?
Just as a caveat, I would say that a house does not need to be a flawless castle to be perfectly adequate - for instance, with packages and security, you usually don't need a meticulously secure area, you just need a place for packages to be out of the common sightline if they're going to sit for a while. You don't need extremely extremely secure windows, you just need not to be set up to leave your bag or laptop right by an insecure window that is highly visible from your yard, where people constantly cut through and where you have little visibility, etc. Our house is minimally secure in these ways and in general that has been fine.
posted by Frowner at 10:14 AM on October 12, 2023 [4 favorites]